Book Review – MOMO FREAKS OUT by Samone Bos

Momo Freaks Out Samone Bos

Wanderlust on the Web and Finding a Way Home

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Momo Freaks Out Synopsis :

A long time ago, way before Facebook and Instagram, and when no one had even considered Snapchat, there were blogs. One day, bored at work, Momo, a typical twenty-something, discovered this curious new underworld of secret diaries. Soon she’s living her life online, baring her soul and relationships, equal parts funny and pitiful.

With blogged stories and anecdotes spanning a freakishly well-remembered childhood and her then-present, Momo’s blog life opens doors, eventually taking her from being a young book editor in Melbourne to an English teacher in Tokyo, navigating earthquakes from under a table.

Momo Freaks Out represents a time, a subculture and a whole lot of silly hijinks in a decade that seems both very recent and distant.

(Echo Publishing, March 2017)

BOOK REVIEW

Despite being only a few years younger than Momo Freaks Out author Samone Bos, I was a relative latecomer to the world of blogging. And despite loving sharing my reading experiences here at Booklover Book Reviews (which in themselves are quite personal at times), I have never felt any inclination to open that window into my life any wider in such a public forum. From that perspective, the level of candour and apparent comfort people have in doing so fascinates me.

From the opening pages of Momo Freaks Out it is clear that Bos is a genuine ‘character’ and her highly spirited nature and penchant for the celebration of all things alternative/geeky lands her in more unusual situations than most. This certainly makes for entertaining (and at times, downright hilarious) blog-diary entries.

Bos’ use of nicknames and colloquialisms I’d never come across (schlorking?) was lots of fun and her axolotl reference delighted me no end.

The most astonishing thing was getting an Aussie meat pie (with tomato sauce!) way up on the mountain top. And after seven long months since I left Melbourne, chowing down that greasy old rat’s coffin was like finding El Dorado.

But more often than not it was actually the comedic filter through which Bos chooses to process and then recount particular events that transformed the banal to the funny. And I think picking the right gauge for that filter (both in respect to tone and in an attempt to maintain others privacy) is such a tricky thing, and ultimately determines reader engagement. As enjoyable as the comedic antics were, it was actually in revealing her low points that Bos cultivates the greatest connection with readers.

Given the narrative voice in Momo Freaks Out does at times verge on manic, it is not something I read for hours at a time. Rather this book is one that I dipped into, and was entertained by, over the space of a week – which seems entirely appropriate given it is a distillation of quirky blog posts originally unleashed on readers over the space of several years.

BOOK RATING: The Story 3 / 5 ; The Writing 3 / 5

Momo Freaks Out Samone Bos
Get your copy of Momo Freaks Out from:
Book Depository | KobobooksBookworld(Aus) | Booktopia(Aus)

Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction, Humour, Drama

This review counts towards my participation in the Aussie Author Challenge 2017 and the 2017 Australian Women Writers Challenge.

About the Author, Samone Bos

Samone Bos lives with her eight-year-old twins and their retired champion greyhound Diesel in a super-colourful mid-century house near the beach in Melbourne’s south. Samone is a commissioning editor and has worked in children’s publishing since 1999. To be honest, she would have preferred to have been a children’s television presenter and has the primary-colour wardrobe to prove it, but has built a successful and satisfactory career as an editor and also writer for a bunch of publications, namely Dorling Kindersley in the UK, some bits and pieces for Lonely Planet, Macmillan Australia, and Hardie Grant Egmont. Follow her on Instagram: momofreaksout

Other reviews of Momo Freaks Out

Goodreads, BetterReading

* My receiving a copy of Momo Freaks Out from the publisher for review purposes did not impact the expression of my honest opinions in the review above.